Michigan Tech Receives Unblemished Audit Report

At its regular meeting on Friday, Oct. 3, Michigan Technological University’s Board of Trustees received a first-rate audit report from the external audit firm Rehmann Robson, which performed the year-end financial statement audit. The auditors issued a clean or unmodified opinion, which is the highest level of assurance that an audit firm can place on financial statements.

"We are obviously pleased with the report,” said Michigan Tech President Glenn Mroz. “Accounting standards and accountability standards change in ways large and small each year, and it's a credit to Julie Seppala (Board of Trustees treasurer and executive director of financial services and operations for the University) that we meet and exceed those standards."

In other business, the Board:

• Approved a 5-year capital outlay plan that is required annually by the State.
• Voted to grant honorary Doctor of Philosophy degrees to Dale F. Elliott and Dr. Susan E. Skochelak.  Elliott is scheduled to be the December 2014 Commencement speaker, and Dr. Skochelak will speak at the May 2015 Commencement. 
• Approved emeritus rank for three retired professors: George Robinson, Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences; and Carl Anderson and Chris Passerello, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics. 
• Passed a resolution honoring three employees who have worked at Michigan Tech for 35 years or more:  Edwin Corrigan and Chris Passerello, 36 years; James Heikkinen, 35 years.,
• Heard a report on Fall 2014 enrollment at Michigan Tech, which totaled 7,100, with ACT scores averaging 27, compared to 21 nationally, and retention of students up to 85 percent.
• Received an update on the Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC), which received $3.6 million ins sponsored research awards during Fiscal Year 2014, triple what was received in FY 2013.  The GLRC now has 30 active research projects with principal investigators from six different departments and co-investigators from 10 departments.  Four federal agencies—the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Air and Space Administration (NASA) the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—are supporting GLRC research projects.
• Heard a report from Provost Max Seel about the congruency of the University’s strategic plan and academic plan.  He described new University-wide initiatives focusing on academics in the context of the strategic plan, including a biomaterials initiative, “H-STEM” (Health – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), Entrepreneurship, and a Center for STEM Education Research.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.